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Monday, January 30, 2012

My Place and Yours: Green

My initial thought when I saw the theme for this week's My Place and Yours meme at Punky and Me was "I don't have anything green!" And then I walked from room to room with my camera, and you know what? You guessed it, I have a lot of green! Here are some of my favourites:


Part of my vintage tole tray collection (mine are all from the 1940s and 1950s)...


Lily of the valley plate on the wall...


Bedside tables (yes, there are two of them and I LOVE them:)...


Vintage tole crumb catcher (from 1950's) on dresser (painted by me 15 years ago)...


Crayons waiting to be melted...

If you want to play along or see some green at other places you can visit here! Cyndy

PS I am really hoping somebody has a Kermit the frog at their place:) Pin It

Thursday, January 26, 2012

My Creative Space - Easter Finger Puppets with an Australian Twist!


My creative space has been a bit hit or miss over the summer holiday. With all three children home there just hasn't been the time I would like (or space for that matter as they have taken over all spaces including my crafting studio, the kitchen table:) as keeping them occupied has taken centre stage.

But amongst the strawberry picking, beach going, op shopping, movie going, play dating, board gaming, video gaming, crafting and legoing I have been working on one little project for my Madeit shop - Easter finger puppets! I know, I know Easter already? But for once I am trying to be ahead of the curve:)

I find the focus on chocolate at Easter a bit overwhelming, so I try to minimize the chocolate by giving the children a few small bits and bobs in their baskets. I came up with the idea of Easter finger puppets last year. I know pretty mundane, but there is an Australian twist, as they include not only a bunny and a chick, but an Easter bilby:) They seemed to be a hit last year with the kids and friends, so I decided to make some to sell in my Madeit shop this year.




Despite the lack of routine and the feeling of constant chaos and clutter about the house, these summer holidays have passed quickly. Oldest and middle start back to school next week and littlest starts 4 year old kinder. Now that will be a big change - not sure what I will do without my constant shadow of almost 4 years!

Hope your holidays have been enjoyable whether you have been creative or not:). For more creative spaces this week check here. Cyndy Pin It

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Blinky Bill and Surprises


Earlier this week I got a little surprise. I received a package in the mail of something I had ordered in November, but it had been so long since I had ordered it that I had forgotten it was even coming! It was a package from Spoonflower, where you can design and print your own fabric. During their last free postage special I had decided to try out an idea for a fabric print.

I love Australian children's literature. One of my favourites is Blinky Bill (I found a first edition copy for $0.99 on Ebay, can you believe it! It's a little worse for the wear, but it's a first edition:). It's a curious little story, but it's the illustrations by Dorothy Wall that I love the most. When thinking about names for my shop I considered "the peppermint koala" because of the bit in the story where Blinky Bill gets into Miss Pimm's store and eats the peppermints:)


So back to the Spoonflower fabric. I had been thinking about creating some sort of Blinky Bill fabric using artwork from the original book. So when the postage special happened I decided to go for it and then apparently forgot! Imagine my surprise when my package showed up 2 months later with this little fabric swatch in it - I loved it!


It's only a fat quarter so I need to think carefully about how I will use it. And yes, I am now itching to use it:) Don't you love it when you forget and get a nice surprise? Cyndy Pin It

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A Little Moment: Strawberry Fields

Friday we picked strawberries and had a picnic with friends. It reminded me of my childhood and how my mother used to drag my sister and I out to pick all manner of fruits and veges from season to season. I realize now how lucky I was to have such a mother! I hope someday my children think I am that same kind of mother:) Cyndy







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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait


One of middle's (age 7) favourite colour combos right now is black and white. So for Christmas I decided to make her a skirt using black and white fabric that I had in my stash. The problem was, I wasn't liking any of the combinations (I needed three different fabrics for this particular skirt). In the end I decided to use two black and white prints (both with some sort of circle pattern) and plain old white as the third, thinking I would come up with "something to do on the white fabric that would fit later.

Well, we finally came up with that "something": button embroidered flowers! It's simple and fits in with the circle theme. We are doing two on each of the white fabric panels. Only one more flower to go, then the hem and it will be all done!


Sometimes you just have to wait for the right idea to come along to finish something:) Cyndy Pin It

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Felt Play Food: Hundreds & Thousands


In one of my more desperate inspired parenting moments this week, I plucked a packet of Hundreds & Thousands off the shelf while shopping with littlest at Aldis. I had forgotten to bring her water bottle and a snack and she was whinging up a storm. I was hoping the promise of a biscuit when we got home would keep her quiet. It didn't:(

My impulse purchase, however, wasn't a total loss. I had been thinking about making a felt version of the biscuit for a while, and now I had the research I needed. And yes, my research did require eating some:)


You will note these are a round version (non Arnotts), there are also square ones (Arnotts). I decided to make the round ones as so many of the other felt biscuits I have made (e.g. iced vo vo, tim tam) are rectangular:) You know, just trying to shake things up a little:)

Next on my list? Tic Tocs - more research though is required:) Cyndy Pin It

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Op Shop Finds

In doing my good deed yesterday (dropping off unneeded clothes at the op shop) I couldn't help but take a peek to see if anyone elses unneeded items were needed by me! Of course I found a few I couldn't resist:)

The first was this "Mary, Mary quite contrary" mug. I love nursery rhymes, especially the ones with "Mary" in them. I have some nursery rhyme prints on the wall in the girls room, so I am thinking I will use this in their room - somehow.

The second was this beautiful flower plate. I have written about and shared my love of flowers elsewhere including here and  here, and I have shared many of my flower related crafts like here but that's just the tip of my flower obsession iceberg. My bedroom walls are covered in all sorts of flowers from framed prints to painted trays to framed embroidery to yes, plates:) The plate is melmac, but the colours (in my opinion) are stunning. I have just the place in mind for it on my wall:)


And case you are wondering, despite these finds, I did manage to get rid of more than I found:) Cyndy Pin It

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!


Today is a new day and a new year. Brand new, just waiting to be lived...with confetti:) Here's hoping that you and yours have a wonderful year ahead of you :) Cyndy Pin It
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